The friendly and familiar hawking in the alleys accompanied the growth of several generations of Shanghainese. In the 1960s, lacking goods and materials, thrifty Shanghai people could live their life on a tight budget. If they could not repair the household appliances, they would ask some skilled workers to repair them, including Suzhou people who could sharpen scissors, Jiangxi people who could patch bowls and northern Jiangsu people who could repair toothbrushes.